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by almostinsane
Summary: "Actually, I was thinking of scandalizing my neighbors by having my Dalish lover move in." Oh, Hawke, you devil, you. We never learn what happens when Merrill moves in with Hawke apart from a few Codex entries. Read as Kirkwall reacts to Hawke's total disregard for society norms. Also features a curious Isabela, a jealous Fenris and Anders, pissed off Dalish, and much more.
1. Dulci de Launcet

**Disclaimer: Alright. The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing. Now, on with the story. Brace yourselves from this first chapter of Orlesianness...**

Leandra Amell had been a wonderful friend to Dulci de Launcet in her youth, but to be honest, her son caused him great concern. Oh, Garret Hawke was charming, handsome, and possessed a fresh sense of humor that endeared him to nearly everyone he met, even the ones that were at the receiving end of his affable sarcastic quips. He was also a dear at the balls and feasts Leandra had insisted he attend since the Amells rose again, largely thanks to his now famous foray into the Deep Roads (Dulci shuddered as the thought of those Maker forsaken tunnels. They sounded almost as filthy as the Hanged Man!). Unfortunately, Hawke, for that was what most in the city, even among high society, called him had picked up several undesirable traits.

He insisted on keeping the company of those who were beneath him: elves, a mage from Darktown rumored to be an apostate, a Rivaini sailor that wore scandalously little (she had had to direct her husband's attention away from her bosom, obviously magically inflated as no woman has the right to have breasts _that big_), and the younger Tethras brother who spent most of his time telling stories in a dismal bar. Still, he kept a _few_ good companions. Sebastian Vael sung the Chant beautifully and was a Brother devoted to the Maker and came of good blood and Captain Aveline had proven a capable guard captain for a Ferelden. And she could sympathize with him trying to visit his sister, Bethany at the Gallows. Maker knows she had been trying to visit poor Emile for ages. Still, the others he could have afforded to cut loose after the Deep Roads business!

More unfortunate still was Hawke's apparent disinclination towards finding a suitable wife. He was young still, but he would find himself past marriageable age if he did not consider his prospects. She knew that Leandra had been trying to fix him up with a proper wife. She had even suggested Hawke dance with Fifi or Babbette when she threw the Hallow's Eve Ball and, though her daughters giggled about how charming he had been, he hadn't called on either of them since.

Dulci de Lancet sighed, sitting at the window in her and her husband's bedroom and gazing out at the old Amell estate. Poor Leandra... When she snuck out of Kirkwall with that dashing Malcolm Hawke, everyone was gossiping about it. Every woman and some guys that attended those Hightown parities where he entertained the nobility were instantly smitten with him. (She thought it was his voice. It was just amazing.) It made for a thrilling story. So romantic and dangerous. But then Leandra had to live in _Ferelden_ of all places. How she stood the barbarity and smell of wet dog and the indignity of living as a peasant, if what Leandra told her was true, was beyond her. Didn't her son know his mother deserved the comfort of proper grandchildren in her old age?

Speaking of her son, she could see him right now from her window, but he wasn't alone. Excitedly, she took a pair of opera glasses from her bedside table and peered into his window. He was with... an _elf._ Oh, poor Leandra! It wasn't just any elf. It was one of his companions, that Dalish girl with the strange tattoos and wide eyes. Oh, that poor girl. Call her soft-hearted, but she objected to noble men taking elvish lovers. They had no idea of the hurt they brought to their family or that of their lover.

Dulci de Lancet tisked to herself, glaring over at the curtains when, as if summoned, Hawke's face appeared. He grinned, winked at her, and shut the curtains to her. She flushed. As if she was a common peeping tom! She approached her husband's desk and began to write. It was her duty as a friend of Leandra's to write her and warn of her son's delinquencies and it was her civil duty to report this act of brazen baseness to her friends in Hightown. Hopefully, by shining a light on his no-doubt secret sexual liason, she would bring a correction to the young Hawke's behavior. Really, she was a good friend to Leandra.

**Hours Later in Hawke's Estate**

"What happens now? Are we... What did this mean?" Merrill asked softly. She and Hawke were naked after... She blushed at the chaotic but pleasurable assortment of memories assaulted her.

"Now we both decide what happens next," Hawke told her, unusually serious. Strange as it was, she was happy his manner changed. It meant it was more than a random act to him.

"If you hadn't come to Sundermount that day... I can't imagine where I'd be now," she told him. She rested her head on his chest and couldn't help but add, "I love you. I probably shouldn't have said that should I? I always say the stupidest things."

"I love you, Merrill. Actually, I was thinking of scandalizing my neighbors by having my Dalish lover move in. What do you think?" he asked, his eyes sparkling like it always did when he was about to do something particularly funny and flip the world upside down. It was like a kind of magic the Templars couldn't detect.

"Here? In hightown? The rich, fancy part of the city with no rats in it? And you... with an elf? Ma Vhenan... you really are crazy, aren't you?"

Hawke smiled and kissed her and suddenly, she wasn't so concerned. She smiled at him, "If you're not afraid... then neither am I."

**A/N. And there you have it. I apologize for having to read Dulci du Lancet's point of view, but I thought it was funny and she really isn't so bad for an Orlesian. Any suggestions for events/characters being featured in future chapters are, of course, welcome. And to make things clear, Hawke hasn't slept with anyone else before this so things are going to be fun. Isabela needs details for one thing.**

**A/N. 2. Oh, and I made Malcolm Hawke the man everyone wanted in his day. People in real life just love his voice in Legacy and it's not just anyone that can charm a noblewoman to run away with him.**


	2. Leandra Hawke

Sometimes, when she was just waking up in the morning, Leandra Hawke thought she was Young Mistress Amell again, the apple of her father's eye and young enough to feel like a child again. Her room looked the same: the same crimson furnishings, the same bed, and even most of the same furniture. Then, she would look in the mirror and remember: Malcolm with his charming smile and laughter that hid great kindness and great sadness, leaving Kirkwall with him, the birth of Garrett, and then the birth of the twins, and their life together evading the Templars in Ferelden. She had never thought she would return home again, but the Maker had other plans for them.

She wished that, somehow, Malcolm, Carver, and Bethany were living here with her and Garret, but that wasn't to be. Malcolm and Carver were dead and Bethany imprisoned in the Gallows and she blamed herself. If they had not come here, Bethany wouldn't be in such a place. Even if they stayed in Ferelden and Bethany was caught, it would still have been better. Malcolm always said the Circle was a prison, but the Gallows was the one Circle that made no pretensions otherwise.

Shaking her head from such dark thoughts, she opened her wardrobe and dressed herself. It had been a long time since she had servants do it for her and now, after all these years, she much preferred it this way. As she finished, she heard the door open.

"Mistress, I brought you your morning tea," a subservient voice announced and Leandra turned to see a fearful-looking elf setting a tray of tea at a small table near the fireplace. She smiled kindly at the elf.

"Thank you Orana. That was very thoughtful of you," she said.

"You are too kind Mistress," she said with a blush, but Leandra could tell she was pleased.

She did not know much about the circumstances behind the elf taking up residence in their estate, nor did she think she really wanted to, but Garrett told her enough. She had been a slave of a Tevinter Mage from one of his friend's pasts and, after she had been slain, Garrett offered her a job. It was difficult helping the elf to understand she was free and could do whatever she wanted with her life, but it succeeded to some extent. Orana didn't fear being beaten or used as a sacrifice in blood magic, but she couldn't leave. Nor did she want to. Brother Sebastian, Bodahn, Sandal, and a couple of Hawke's elf friends helped, of course, but she had the feeling that Orana was a little frightened of the Tevinter elf, Fenris she believed his name was. Still, they along with her son's kind manner did her good, at least in Leandra's opinion.

"I think I will awaken my son," she said after pouring herself a cup of tea and drinking half of it, "It is almost 10 in the morning already."

"There is no need, Mistress. I will do it," Orana assured her.

"No, my son needs a firm hand to get him out of bed in the morning or he will lie in bed all day," Leandra replied, "Knowing him, he'll tell you he's getting up and sleep until dusks. You should go see if Bodahn needs help with anything."

"Right away, Mistress," she told her as she headed downstairs towards the main hall.

When she was gone, Leandra sighed slightly as she headed out her door and towards her son's room. She liked Orana and pitied her, but she was still a little uncomfortable being the master in a master-servant relationship. What she really wanted was for her son to find a woman he was serious in courting. It would be good to have an equal in her home that wasn't her son. Briskly, she opened the door to her son's bedroom and tugged at the drapes of his window to allow sunlight to shine into the dark bedroom.

"Garrett, it is almost time to start the day," she began only to fall silent when she saw that her son was not the only occupant in his bed. Laying her head on his chest was an elf, a naked elf, with tattoos winding all over her body. Leandra felt her face heat up. Too late, she remembered something Malcolm once told her. "There are some things about your children you should never have to see."

"Oh!" the elf exclaimed, holding the cover up to hide her nakedness with a flush on her heart-shaped face.

"Err, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this," Garrett began before Leandra cut him off.

"Just tell me straight: is this a fling or something serious?" she asked him with a straight face. Her son grinned sheepishly.

"Well, you always said this place seemed empty…"

"Well, that's something at least… But if this is a new scheme to upset the neighbors again…"

"Nah, that's just a bonus," Garret told her with a charming grin on his face. Merrill looked over at Hawke with a curious expression on her face.

"What does she mean by again?"

"You don't want to know," Leandra told her with a sigh before smiling slightly at the girl. It was a credit to her upbringing that she managed to maintain her composure as she said, "Perhaps you can join me for a cup of tea. I don't think we have talked much."

"Oh, that sounds nice! I just… Well, need to get dressed," Merrill stated awkwardly, blushing slightly. She wondered if all human women had tea with elves they found naked in their son's beds. She had a good feeling they didn't. It was yet another surprising thing about Hawke, but it was nice as all his surprises usually were, except if you were trying to kill him, of course.

As she thought this, Hawke glanced at his mother questioningly, but Leandra just smiled at him, "Meet us downstairs, darling. Go get something to eat I think Sandal is cooking breakfast this morning."

"So that's why you're having teatime instead. I swear the dwarf puts lyrium in _everything_ he makes," Hawke commented, but Leandra was already out the door, leaving the two to get dressed. As Merrill pulled on her clothes from yesterday, she smiled weakly at Hawke.

"Well… Your mother's nice."

"That she is," he told her. He put on his robe and, glancing at the mirror, smiled ruefully, "The burn's barely noticeable."

"Oh. Sorry. I just… Got a little excited," Merrill flushed in embarrassment. Hawke laughed.

"Don't worry about it. I think I heard Isabela talking to Anders about mages using their powers in bed," he told her with a shrug.

"Well, sometimes I use a spell to help me goto sleep… Oh!" she flushed. Merrill hated being slow when it came to dirty things. She had hoped that sleeping with Hawke would help, but that didn't seem to be a case. Maybe if she did it more… She blushed more.

"Should I know anything about your Mother?" she asked. She was a little nervous about having tea with her. Isabela had told them some stories about her lovers' relations and it didn't sound pleasant.

"Don't worry. I think she likes you. Besides, there's a big difference between her finding someone like you in my room and someone like Isabela." Hawke told her. That made her feel a little better. Perhaps there were some benefits to living a boring life in comparison to her friend.

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss in thanks as she exited his room and she was pleased with the surprised look on his face afterwards when she left the room, though it was a little ruined when she poked her head back in and asked him where his mother's room was.

When Merrill at last entered her room, Leandra smiled warmly at her. To be honest, she looked about ready to bolt, almost like a deer, but managed to sit still in front of her nonetheless.

"Would you like sugar or honey with your tea?" she asked.

"Oh, honey," she stated immediately and Leandra poured a second cup of tea for her and mixed in a teaspoon of honey. Awkwardly, Merrill took it.

"Garrett speaks highly of you," Leandra said, trying to break the ice. Merill blinked.

"Really? What does he say?" she asked curiously. Then, realizing she might be rude, added, "Milady."

"None of that. You're a guest! And we're a little past formalities considering," Leandra told her and Merrill flushed nervously. Leandra continued despite this, saying, "He says that you're sweet and that it's amazing how Isabela hasn't corrupted you yet."

"Isabela isn't that bad. She's… worldly," Merrill told her. Leandra smiled.

"That she is. When she and Varric visit Garrett, it's like there is three of my husband," Leandra told her and Merrill cocked an eyebrow.

"Was Hawke's father a lot like him? Garrett, I mean," she said, cursing herself for falling back to calling him Hawke.

"Oh, yes. He had a way of saying just the last thing you'd expect and keep laughing, even at the most inappropriate times," Leandra told her and Merrill giggled. Hawke was like that.

"How do you like Kirkwall? It must be different from what you're used to," Leandra commented and Merrill shrugged awkwardly.

"It has its good parts. I don't know what I'd do without Hawke, Garrett, I mean. Isabela and Varric are wonderful too as well as the others, even if Fenris and Anders can get a little cranky. I can tell that Aveline likes Hawke and the others. She keeps coming back even if we sometimes make things harder for her. And Sebastian, well, he is shiny," Merrill commented.

"He is a fine young man. Other than Garrett, he is the most talked-about-young man among all the ladies. Even some old enough to be his mother."

Merrill frowned slightly. She bit her lip, "Are there many women who like Hawke?"

"Oh, yes. He never seemed too interested in them, though," Leandra assured her, "He is a change-of-pace to some of the stuffier nobles in Hightown. He's like his father that way. I wasn't the only one that had eyes on him."

Merrill looked interested and listened as she described some of the escapades Malcolm Hawke drew her into. She was right. Leandra, for her part, was glad to have an audience that wasn't uncomfortable about her and her husband's romantic life. Soon enough, though, the subject switched back to Garrett.

"It seems he can talk his way through anything. It's almost like magic," Merrill told her.

"Not everything. And, of course, Garrett wasn't always the charmer. I remember when he first liked a girl. He was five summers old and the girl next door was sixteen and looked after him…." Leandra began.

When Hawke had finished his breakfast and made his way upstairs, he found her and Merrill, to his horror, _giggling_.

"Alright. I hear giggling. That is never a good sign," Hawke stated and Merrill smiled at him.

"You were so cute as a Da'len, Ma Vhenan."

"Maker, I knew this was a bad idea!"

**A/N. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. I'm sorry for not having it up sooner. I was busy with finals and Christmas. Suggestions on who to do next is welcome.**


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